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John C, Avgar T, Rittger K, Smith JA, Stephenson LW, Stephenson TR, Post E. Pursuit and escape drive fine-scale movement variation during migration in a temperate alpine ungulate. Sci Rep 2024; 14:15068. [PMID: 38956435 PMCID: PMC11219842 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-65948-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 06/24/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Climate change reduces snowpack, advances snowmelt phenology, drives summer warming, alters growing season precipitation regimes, and consequently modifies vegetation phenology in mountain systems. Elevational migrants track spatial variation in seasonal plant growth by moving between ranges at different elevations during spring, so climate-driven vegetation change may disrupt historic benefits of migration. Elevational migrants can furthermore cope with short-term environmental variability by undertaking brief vertical movements to refugia when sudden adverse conditions arise. We uncover drivers of fine-scale vertical movement variation during upland migration in an endangered alpine specialist, Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis sierrae) using a 20-year study of GPS collar data collected from 311 unique individuals. We used integrated step-selection analysis to determine factors that promote vertical movements and drive selection of destinations following vertical movements. Our results reveal that relatively high temperatures consistently drive uphill movements, while precipitation likely drives downhill movements. Furthermore, bighorn select destinations at their peak annual biomass and maximal time since snowmelt. These results indicate that although Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep seek out foraging opportunities related to landscape phenology, they compensate for short-term environmental stressors by undertaking brief up- and downslope vertical movements. Migrants may therefore be impacted by future warming and increased storm frequency or intensity, with shifts in annual migration timing, and fine-scale vertical movement responses to environmental variability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian John
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA.
- Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
| | - Tal Avgar
- Department of Wildland Resources and Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA
- Department of Biology, University of British Columbia - Okanagan, Kelowna, BC, Canada
- Wildlife Science Centre, Biodiversity Pathways Ltd., Kelowna, BC, Canada
| | - Karl Rittger
- Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Justine A Smith
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Logan W Stephenson
- Department of Wildland Resources and Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA
| | - Thomas R Stephenson
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Recovery Program, Bishop, CA, USA
| | - Eric Post
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
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2
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Denryter K, Stephenson TR, Monteith KL. Migratory behaviours are risk-sensitive to physiological state in an elevational migrant. CONSERVATION PHYSIOLOGY 2024; 12:coae029. [PMID: 38779433 PMCID: PMC11109817 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/coae029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2024] [Revised: 04/17/2024] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
Accretion of body fat by animals is an important physiological adaptation that may underpin seasonal behaviours, especially where it modulates risk associated with a particular behaviour. Using movement data from male Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis sierrae), we tested the hypothesis that migratory behaviours were risk-sensitive to physiological state (indexed by body fat). Sierra bighorn face severe winter conditions at high elevations and higher predation risk at lower elevations. Given that large body fat stores ameliorate starvation risk, we predicted that having small body fat stores would force animals to migrate to lower elevations with more abundant food supplies. We also predicted that body fat stores would influence how far animals migrate, with the skinniest animals migrating the furthest down in elevation (to access the most abundant food supplies at that time of year). Lastly, we predicted that population-level rates of switching between migratory tactics would be inversely related to body fat levels because as body fat levels decrease, animals exhibiting migratory plasticity should modulate their risk of starvation by switching migratory tactics. Consistent with our predictions, probability of migration and elevational distance migrated increased with decreasing body fat, but effects differed amongst metapopulations. Population-level switching rates also were inversely related to population-level measures of body fat prior to migration. Collectively, our findings suggest migration was risk-sensitive to physiological state, and failure to accrete adequate fat may force animals to make trade-offs between starvation and predation risk. In complex seasonal environments, risk-sensitive migration yields a layer of flexibility that should aid long-term persistence of animals that can best modulate their risk by attuning behaviour to physiological state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristin Denryter
- Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Wyoming, Bim Kendall House 804 E Fremont St, Laramie, WY 82072, USA
| | - Thomas R. Stephenson
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Recovery Program, 787 N Main St., Bishop, CA 93514, USA
| | - Kevin L. Monteith
- Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Bim Kendall House 804 E Fremont St, Laramie, WY 82072, USA
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3
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White KS, Hood E, Wolken GJ, Peitzsch EH, Bühler Y, Wikstrom Jones K, Darimont CT. Snow avalanches are a primary climate-linked driver of mountain ungulate populations. Commun Biol 2024; 7:423. [PMID: 38684895 PMCID: PMC11058775 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06073-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Snow is a major, climate-sensitive feature of the Earth's surface and catalyst of fundamentally important ecosystem processes. Understanding how snow influences sentinel species in rapidly changing mountain ecosystems is particularly critical. Whereas effects of snow on food availability, energy expenditure, and predation are well documented, we report how avalanches exert major impacts on an ecologically significant mountain ungulate - the coastal Alaskan mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus). Using long-term GPS data and field observations across four populations (421 individuals over 17 years), we show that avalanches caused 23-65% of all mortality, depending on area. Deaths varied seasonally and were directly linked to spatial movement patterns and avalanche terrain use. Population-level avalanche mortality, 61% of which comprised reproductively important prime-aged individuals, averaged 8% annually and exceeded 22% when avalanche conditions were severe. Our findings reveal a widespread but previously undescribed pathway by which snow can elicit major population-level impacts and shape demographic characteristics of slow-growing populations of mountain-adapted animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin S White
- Department of Natural Sciences, Program on the Environment, University of Alaska Southeast, Juneau, AK, 99801, USA.
- Department of Geography, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, V8W 2Y2, Canada.
- Division of Wildlife Conservation (ret.), Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Juneau, AK, 99811, USA.
| | - Eran Hood
- Department of Natural Sciences, Program on the Environment, University of Alaska Southeast, Juneau, AK, 99801, USA
| | - Gabriel J Wolken
- Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, Climate and Cryosphere Hazards Program, Fairbanks, AK, 99709, USA
- Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA
| | - Erich H Peitzsch
- U.S. Geological Survey, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, West Glacier, Montana, MT, 59936, USA
| | - Yves Bühler
- WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos CH-7260, Davos, Switzerland
- Climate Change, Extremes and Natural Hazards in Alpine Regions Research Centre CERC, Davos CH-7260, Davos, Switzerland
| | - Katreen Wikstrom Jones
- Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA
| | - Chris T Darimont
- Department of Geography, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, V8W 2Y2, Canada
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Whiting JC, Bleich VC, Bowyer RT, Epps CW. Restoration of bighorn sheep: History, successes, and remaining conservation issues. Front Ecol Evol 2023. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2023.1083350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Mammals are imperiled worldwide, primarily from habitat loss or modification, and exhibit downward trends in their populations and distributions. Likewise, large-bodied herbivores have undergone a collapse in numbers and are at the highest extinction risk of all mammals. Bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) are among those large-bodied herbivores that possess a slow-paced life history, suffer from debilitating diseases, and have experienced range contractions across their historical distribution since the late 1800s. Translocations and reintroductions of these mountain ungulates are key aspects of restoration and often are used to re-establish populations in historical habitat or to supplement declining herds. Millions of US dollars and much effort by state and federal natural resource agencies, as well as public and private organizations, have been expended to restore bighorn sheep. Despite those efforts, translocated populations of bighorn sheep have not always been successful. We assessed restoration of bighorn sheep to provide insights in the context of conservation of populations of bighorn sheep, because this management tool is a frequently used to re-establish populations. We focused briefly on past efforts to restore bighorn sheep populations and followed with updates on the value of habitat enhancements, genetic issues, the importance of ecotypic or phenotypic adaptations when restoring populations, predation, and disease transmission. We also raised issues and posed questions that have potential to affect future decisions regarding the restoration of bighorn sheep. This information will help conservationists improve the success of conserving these iconic large mammals.
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Healy BD, Budy P, Conner MM, Omana Smith EC. Life and death in a dynamic environment: Invasive trout, floods, and intraspecific drivers of translocated populations. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022. [PMID: 35403769 DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5805593.v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the relative strengths of intrinsic and extrinsic factors regulating populations is a long-standing focus of ecology and critical to advancing conservation programs for imperiled species. Conservation could benefit from an increased understanding of factors influencing vital rates (somatic growth, recruitment, survival) in small, translocated populations, which is lacking owing to difficulties in long-term monitoring of rare species. Translocations, here defined as the transfer of wild-captured individuals from source populations to new habitats, are widely used for species conservation, but outcomes are often minimally monitored, and translocations that are monitored often fail. To improve our understanding of how translocated populations respond to environmental variation, we developed and tested hypotheses related to intrinsic (density dependent) and extrinsic (introduced rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss, stream flow and temperature regime) causes of vital rate variation in endangered humpback chub (Gila cypha) populations translocated to Colorado River tributaries in the Grand Canyon (GC), USA. Using biannual recapture data from translocated populations over 10 years, we tested hypotheses related to seasonal somatic growth, and recruitment and population growth rates with linear mixed-effects models and temporal symmetry mark-recapture models. We combined data from recaptures and resights of dispersed fish (both physical captures and continuously recorded antenna detections) from throughout GC to test survival hypotheses, while accounting for site fidelity, using joint live-recapture/live-resight models. While recruitment only occurred in one site, which also drove population growth (relative to survival), evidence supported hypotheses related to density dependence in growth, survival, and recruitment, and somatic growth and recruitment were further limited by introduced trout. Mixed-effects models explained between 67% and 86% of the variation in somatic growth, which showed increased growth rates with greater flood-pulse frequency during monsoon season. Monthly survival was 0.56-0.99 and 0.80-0.99 in the two populations, with lower survival during periods of higher intraspecific abundance and low flood frequency. Our results suggest translocations can contribute toward the recovery of large-river fishes, but continued suppression of invasive fishes to enhance recruitment may be required to ensure population resilience. Furthermore, we demonstrate the importance of flooding to population demographics in food-depauperate, dynamic, invaded systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian D Healy
- Department of Watershed Sciences and the Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA
- Native Fish Ecology and Conservation Program, Division of Science and Resource Management, Grand Canyon National Park, National Park Service, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
| | - Phaedra Budy
- Department of Watershed Sciences and the Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA
- United States Geological Survey, Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Watershed Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA
| | - Mary M Conner
- Department of Wildland Resources and the Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA
| | - Emily C Omana Smith
- Native Fish Ecology and Conservation Program, Division of Science and Resource Management, Grand Canyon National Park, National Park Service, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
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6
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Healy BD, Budy P, Conner MM, Omana Smith EC. Life and death in a dynamic environment: Invasive trout, floods, and intraspecific drivers of translocated populations. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 32:e2635. [PMID: 35403769 PMCID: PMC9541007 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2021] [Revised: 01/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/24/2022] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the relative strengths of intrinsic and extrinsic factors regulating populations is a long-standing focus of ecology and critical to advancing conservation programs for imperiled species. Conservation could benefit from an increased understanding of factors influencing vital rates (somatic growth, recruitment, survival) in small, translocated populations, which is lacking owing to difficulties in long-term monitoring of rare species. Translocations, here defined as the transfer of wild-captured individuals from source populations to new habitats, are widely used for species conservation, but outcomes are often minimally monitored, and translocations that are monitored often fail. To improve our understanding of how translocated populations respond to environmental variation, we developed and tested hypotheses related to intrinsic (density dependent) and extrinsic (introduced rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss, stream flow and temperature regime) causes of vital rate variation in endangered humpback chub (Gila cypha) populations translocated to Colorado River tributaries in the Grand Canyon (GC), USA. Using biannual recapture data from translocated populations over 10 years, we tested hypotheses related to seasonal somatic growth, and recruitment and population growth rates with linear mixed-effects models and temporal symmetry mark-recapture models. We combined data from recaptures and resights of dispersed fish (both physical captures and continuously recorded antenna detections) from throughout GC to test survival hypotheses, while accounting for site fidelity, using joint live-recapture/live-resight models. While recruitment only occurred in one site, which also drove population growth (relative to survival), evidence supported hypotheses related to density dependence in growth, survival, and recruitment, and somatic growth and recruitment were further limited by introduced trout. Mixed-effects models explained between 67% and 86% of the variation in somatic growth, which showed increased growth rates with greater flood-pulse frequency during monsoon season. Monthly survival was 0.56-0.99 and 0.80-0.99 in the two populations, with lower survival during periods of higher intraspecific abundance and low flood frequency. Our results suggest translocations can contribute toward the recovery of large-river fishes, but continued suppression of invasive fishes to enhance recruitment may be required to ensure population resilience. Furthermore, we demonstrate the importance of flooding to population demographics in food-depauperate, dynamic, invaded systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian D. Healy
- Department of Watershed Sciences and the Ecology CenterUtah State UniversityLoganUtahUSA
- Native Fish Ecology and Conservation Program, Division of Science and Resource ManagementGrand Canyon National Park, National Park ServiceFlagstaffArizonaUSA
| | - Phaedra Budy
- Department of Watershed Sciences and the Ecology CenterUtah State UniversityLoganUtahUSA
- United States Geological Survey, Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Watershed SciencesUtah State UniversityLoganUtahUSA
| | - Mary M. Conner
- Department of Wildland Resources and the Ecology CenterUtah State UniversityLoganUtahUSA
| | - Emily C. Omana Smith
- Native Fish Ecology and Conservation Program, Division of Science and Resource ManagementGrand Canyon National Park, National Park ServiceFlagstaffArizonaUSA
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Denryter K, Conner MM, Stephenson TR, German DW, Monteith KL. Survival of the fattest: how body fat and migration influence survival in highly seasonal environments. Funct Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.14151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kristin Denryter
- Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources University of Wyoming, 804 East Fremont Laramie WY USA
| | - Mary M. Conner
- Utah State University Department of Wildland Resources, 5320 Old Main Hill Logan UT USA
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 787 North Main Street, Suite 220 Bishop CA USA
| | - Thomas R. Stephenson
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Recovery Program, 787 North Main Street, Suite 220 Bishop CA USA
| | - David W. German
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Recovery Program, 787 North Main Street, Suite 220 Bishop CA USA
| | - Kevin L. Monteith
- Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, 804 East Fremont Laramie WY USA
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Huang H, Qian Y, He C, Bair EH, Rittger K. Snow Albedo Feedbacks Enhance Snow Impurity-Induced Radiative Forcing in the Sierra Nevada. GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS 2022; 49:e2022GL098102. [PMID: 35859851 PMCID: PMC9285762 DOI: 10.1029/2022gl098102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2022] [Revised: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 05/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
This study employs a fully coupled meteorology-chemistry-snow model to investigate the impacts of light-absorbing particles (LAPs) on snow darkening in the Sierra Nevada. After comprehensive evaluation with spatially and temporally complete satellite retrievals, the model shows that LAPs in snow reduce snow albedo by 0.013 (0-0.045) in the Sierra Nevada during the ablation season (April-July), producing a midday mean radiative forcing of 4.5 W m-2 which increases to 15-22 W m-2 in July. LAPs in snow accelerate snow aging processes and reduce snow cover fraction, which doubles the albedo change and radiative forcing caused by LAPs. The impurity-induced snow darkening effects decrease snow water equivalent and snow depth by 20 and 70 mm in June in the Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep habitat. The earlier snowmelt reduces root-zone soil water content by 20%, deteriorating the forage productivity and playing a negative role in the survival of bighorn sheep.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huilin Huang
- Pacific Northwest National LaboratoryAtmospheric Sciences and Global Change DivisionRichlandWAUSA
| | - Yun Qian
- Pacific Northwest National LaboratoryAtmospheric Sciences and Global Change DivisionRichlandWAUSA
| | - Cenlin He
- Research Applications LaboratoryNational Center for Atmospheric ResearchBoulderCOUSA
| | - Edward H. Bair
- Earth Research InstituteUniversity of CaliforniaSanta BarbaraCAUSA
| | - Karl Rittger
- Institute for Arctic and Alpine ResearchUniversity of Colorado BoulderBoulderCOUSA
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9
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Wagler BL, Smiley RA, Courtemanch AB, Anderson G, Lutz D, McWhirter D, Brimeyer D, Hnilicka P, Massing CP, German DW, Stephenson TR, Monteith KL. Effects of helicopter net‐gunning on survival of bighorn sheep. J Wildl Manage 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.22181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Brittany L. Wagler
- Haub School of the Environment and Natural Resources, Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Zoology and Physiology University of Wyoming 804 E Fremont Street Laramie WY 82071 USA
| | - Rachel A. Smiley
- Haub School of the Environment and Natural Resources, Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Zoology and Physiology University of Wyoming 804 E Fremont Street Laramie WY 82071 USA
| | | | - Gregory Anderson
- Wyoming Game and Fish Department 260 Buena Vista Drive Lander WY 82520 USA
| | - Daryl Lutz
- Wyoming Game and Fish Department 260 Buena Vista Drive Lander WY 82520 USA
| | - Doug McWhirter
- Wyoming Game and Fish Department 420 N Cache Street Jackson WY 83001 USA
| | - Doug Brimeyer
- Wyoming Game and Fish Department 5400 Bishop Boulevard Cheyenne WY 82006 USA
| | - Patrick Hnilicka
- US Fish and Wildlife Service 170 N First Street Lander WY 82520 USA
| | - Cody P. Massing
- Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Recovery Program California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 787 N Main Street, Suite 220, Bishop CA 93514 USA
| | - David W. German
- Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Recovery Program California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 787 N Main Street, Suite 220, Bishop CA 93514 USA
| | - Thomas R. Stephenson
- Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Recovery Program California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 787 N Main Street, Suite 220, Bishop CA 93514 USA
| | - Kevin L. Monteith
- Haub School of the Environment and Natural Resources, Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Zoology and Physiology University of Wyoming 804 E Fremont Street Laramie WY 82071 USA
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10
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Berger DJ, German DW, John C, Hart R, Stephenson TR, Avgar T. Seeing Is Be-Leaving: Perception Informs Migratory Decisions in Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis sierrae). Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.742275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Seasonal migration is a behavioral response to predictable variation in environmental resources, risks, and conditions. In behaviorally plastic migrants, migration is a conditional strategy that depends, in part, on an individual’s informational state. The cognitive processes that underlie how facultative migrants understand and respond to their environment are not well understood. We compared perception of the present environment to memory and omniscience as competing cognitive mechanisms driving altitudinal migratory decisions in an endangered ungulate, the Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis sierrae) using 1,298 animal years of data, encompassing 460 unique individuals. We built a suite of statistical models to partition variation in fall migratory status explained by cognitive predictors, while controlling for non-cognitive drivers. To approximate attribute memory, we included lagged attributes of the range an individual experienced in the previous year. We quantified perception by limiting an individual’s knowledge of migratory range to the area and attributes visible from its summer range, prior to migrating. Our results show that perception, in addition to the migratory propensity of an individual’s social group, and an individual’s migratory history are the best predictors of migration in our system. Our findings suggest that short-distance altitudinal migration is, in part, a response to an individual’s perception of conditions on alterative winter range. In long-distance partial migrants, exploration of migratory decision-making has been limited, but it is unlikely that migratory decisions would be based on sensory cues from a remote target range. Differing cognitive mechanisms underpinning short and long-distance migratory decisions will result in differing levels of behavioral plasticity in response to global climate change and anthropogenic disturbance, with important implications for management and conservation of migratory species.
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Smith MM, Gilbert JH, Olson ER, Scribner KT, Van Deelen TR, Van Stappen JF, Williams BW, Woodford JE, Pauli JN. A recovery network leads to the natural recolonization of an archipelago and a potential trailing edge refuge. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2021; 31:e02416. [PMID: 34278627 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Rapid environmental change is reshaping ecosystems and driving species loss globally. Carnivore populations have declined and retracted rapidly and have been the target of numerous translocation projects. Success, however, is complicated when these efforts occur in novel ecosystems. Identifying refuges, locations that are resistant to environmental change, within a translocation framework should improve population recovery and persistence. American martens (Martes americana) are the most frequently translocated carnivore in North America. As elsewhere, martens were extirpated across much of the Great Lakes region by the 1930s and, despite multiple translocations beginning in the 1950s, martens remain of regional conservation concern. Surprisingly, martens were rediscovered in 2014 on the Apostle Islands of Lake Superior after a putative absence of >40 yr. To identify the source of martens to the islands and understand connectivity of the reintroduction network, we collected genetic data on martens from the archipelago and from all regional reintroduction sites. In total, we genotyped 483 individual martens, 43 of which inhabited the Apostle Islands (densities 0.42-1.46 km-2 ). Coalescent analyses supported the contemporary recolonization of the Apostle Islands with progenitors likely originating from Michigan, which were sourced from Ontario. We also identified movements by a first-order relative between the Apostle Islands and the recovery network. We detected some regional gene flow, but in an unexpected direction: individuals moving from the islands to the mainland. Our findings suggest that the Apostle Islands were naturally recolonized by progeny of translocated individuals and now act as a source back to the reintroduction sites on the mainland. We suggest that the Apostle Islands, given its protection from disturbance, complex forest structure, and reduced carnivore competition, will act as a potential refuge for marten along their trailing range boundary and a central node for regional recovery. Our work reveals that translocations, even those occurring along southern range boundaries, can create recovery networks that function like natural metapopulations. Identifying refuges, locations that are resistant to environmental change, within these recovery networks can further improve species recovery, even within novel environments. Future translocation planning should a priori identify potential refuges and sources to improve short-term recovery and long-term persistence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew M Smith
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, USA
| | - Jonathan H Gilbert
- Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, Odanah, Wisconsin, 54861, USA
| | - Erik R Olson
- Department of Natural Resources, Northland College, Ashland, Wisconsin, 54806, USA
| | - Kim T Scribner
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA
- Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA
| | - Timothy R Van Deelen
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, USA
| | - Julie F Van Stappen
- Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, National Park Service, Bayfield, Wisconsin, 54814, USA
| | - Bronwyn W Williams
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA
- Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA
- Research Laboratory, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27699, USA
| | - James E Woodford
- Bureau of Natural Heritage Conservation, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Rhinelander, Wisconsin, 54501, USA
| | - Jonathan N Pauli
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, USA
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12
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Carter ZT, Lumley T, Bodey TW, Russell JC. The clock is ticking: Temporally prioritizing eradications on islands. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2021; 27:1443-1456. [PMID: 33368863 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2020] [Revised: 11/26/2020] [Accepted: 12/14/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Achieving conservation objectives is time critical, but the vast number of threats and potential actions means some form of ranking is necessary to aid prioritization. Objective methods for ranking conservation actions based on when they are differentially likely to become feasible, or to succeed, are currently unavailable within existing decision-making frameworks but are critical for making informed management decisions. We demonstrate how statistical tools developed for survival (or time-to-event) analysis can be used to rank conservation actions over time, through the lens of invasive mammal eradications on islands. Here we forecast the probability of eradicating commensal rat species (Rattus rattus, R. norvegicus, R. exulans) from the New Zealand archipelago by the government's stated target of year 2050. Our methods provide temporally ranked eradication trajectories for the entire country, thus facilitating meeting nationwide policy goals. This demonstration highlights the relevance and applicability of such an approach and its utility for prioritizing globally effective conservation actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary T Carter
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Thomas Lumley
- Department of Statistics, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Thomas W Bodey
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
- The University of Exeter, Environmental and Sustainability Institute, Penryn, UK
| | - James C Russell
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
- Department of Statistics, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
- Zero Invasive Predators, Wellington, New Zealand
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13
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Proffitt KM, Courtemanch AB, Dewey SR, Lowrey B, McWhirter DE, Monteith K, Paterson JT, Rotella J, White PJ, Garrott RA. Regional variability in pregnancy and survival rates of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep. Ecosphere 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Kelly M. Proffitt
- Montana Department of Fish Wildlife, and Parks 1400 South 19th Avenue Bozeman Montana59718USA
| | | | - Sarah R. Dewey
- Grand Teton National Park P.O. Box 170 Moose Wyoming83012USA
| | - Blake Lowrey
- Fish and Wildlife Ecology and Management Program Department of Ecology Montana State University 310 Lewis Hall Bozeman Montana59717USA
| | | | - Kevin.L. Monteith
- Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit Department of Zoology and Physiology University of Wyoming 804 East Fremont Street Laramie Wyoming82072USA
| | - J. Terrill Paterson
- Fish and Wildlife Ecology and Management Program Department of Ecology Montana State University 310 Lewis Hall Bozeman Montana59717USA
| | - Jay Rotella
- Fish and Wildlife Ecology and Management Program Department of Ecology Montana State University 310 Lewis Hall Bozeman Montana59717USA
| | - Patrick J. White
- Yellowstone Center for Resources Yellowstone National Park National Park Service Mammoth Wyoming82190USA
| | - Robert A. Garrott
- Fish and Wildlife Ecology and Management Program Department of Ecology Montana State University 310 Lewis Hall Bozeman Montana59717USA
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14
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Panting BR, Gese EM, Conner MM, Bergen S. Factors Influencing Survival Rates of Pronghorn Fawns in Idaho. J Wildl Manage 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.21956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Brett R. Panting
- Department of Wildland Resources Utah State University Logan UT 84322‐5230 USA
| | - Eric M. Gese
- United States Department of Agriculture, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, Department of Wildland Resources Utah State University Logan UT 84322‐5230 USA
| | - Mary M. Conner
- Department of Wildland Resources Utah State University Logan UT 84322‐5230 USA
| | - Scott Bergen
- Idaho Department of Fish and Game Southeast Regional Office Pocatello ID 83204 USA
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15
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Stephenson TR, German DW, Cassirer EF, Walsh DP, Blum ME, Cox M, Stewart KM, Monteith KL. Linking population performance to nutritional condition in an alpine ungulate. J Mammal 2020; 101:1244-1256. [PMID: 33335453 PMCID: PMC7733374 DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyaa091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2019] [Accepted: 07/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) can live in extremely harsh environments and subsist on submaintenance diets for much of the year. Under these conditions, energy stored as body fat serves as an essential reserve for supplementing dietary intake to meet metabolic demands of survival and reproduction. We developed equations to predict ingesta-free body fat in bighorn sheep using ultrasonography and condition scores in vivo and carcass measurements postmortem. We then used in vivo equations to investigate the relationships between body fat, pregnancy, overwinter survival, and population growth in free-ranging bighorn sheep in California and Nevada. Among 11 subpopulations that included alpine winter residents and migrants, mean ingesta-free body fat of lactating adult females during autumn ranged between 8.8% and 15.0%; mean body fat for nonlactating females ranged from 16.4% to 20.9%. In adult females, ingesta-free body fat > 7.7% during January (early in the second trimester) corresponded with a > 90% probability of pregnancy and ingesta-free body fat > 13.5% during autumn yielded a probability of overwinter survival > 90%. Mean ingesta-free body fat of lactating females in autumn was positively associated with finite rate of population increase (λ) over the subsequent year in bighorn sheep subpopulations that wintered in alpine landscapes. Bighorn sheep with ingesta-free body fat of 26% in autumn and living in alpine environments possess energy reserves sufficient to meet resting metabolism for 83 days on fat reserves alone. We demonstrated that nutritional condition can be a pervasive mechanism underlying demography in bighorn sheep and characterizes the nutritional value of their occupied ranges. Mountain sheep are capital survivors in addition to being capital breeders, and because they inhabit landscapes with extreme seasonal forage scarcity, they also can be fat reserve obligates. Quantifying nutritional condition is essential for understanding the quality of habitats, how it underpins demography, and the proximity of a population to a nutritional threshold.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas R Stephenson
- Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Recovery Program, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bishop, CA, USA
| | - David W German
- Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Recovery Program, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bishop, CA, USA
| | | | | | - Marcus E Blum
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA
| | - Mike Cox
- Nevada Department of Wildlife, Reno, NV, USA
| | - Kelley M Stewart
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA
| | - Kevin L Monteith
- Haub School of the Environment, Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA (KLM)
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16
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Spitz DB, Hebblewhite M, Stephenson TR. Habitat predicts local prevalence of migratory behaviour in an alpine ungulate. J Anim Ecol 2020; 89:1032-1044. [PMID: 31854458 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2019] [Accepted: 11/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The resource hierarchy hypothesis predicts that the most important factors limiting a species' distribution act at the coarsest spatial scales. However, resource selection behaviour affords mobile organisms the opportunity to adopt a range of tactics for navigating spatial trade-offs between competing biotic and abiotic constraints. Throughout the animal kingdom, partial migration (where some individuals migrate, and others remain resident year round) offers a pervasive example of such behavioural polymorphism. Identifying the differences between these behaviours is therefore central to understanding the conditions (habitat) needed to sustain migrant and resident populations. Here we test an extension of the resource hierarchy hypothesis. We hypothesized that rather than responding to a single limiting factor, migration and residency represent contrasting scale-specific approaches to managing trade-offs between forage, predation risk and severe winter conditions. Furthermore, we predicted that the distribution of habitat selected by migrants and residents is predictive of the local prevalence of migratory behaviour. To test these hypotheses, we quantified migratory status- (resident/migrant) and season-specific (winter/summer) differences in resource selection by eight populations of federally endangered Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep Ovis canadensis sierrae across three spatial scales: population range, individual range and within individual range. We then integrated these spatial predictions to produce separate spatial predictions of migrant and resident winter habitat. As predicted, model selection provided strong evidence for the importance of status-specific differences in resource selection. Residents showed stronger coarse-scale selection for terrain associated with predator avoidance and stronger fine-scale selection for greenness, while in migrants this pattern was reversed. Availability of migrant habitat predicted the local prevalence of migration (top model pseudo R2 of .87). Our ability to respond to global declines of migratory species depends on improving our understanding of the conditions required to maintain migratory behaviour. Through explicitly contrasting migrant and resident behaviour, our results illustrate seasonal differences in migrant and resident habitat and how these two behaviours represent responses to different limiting conditions. Our analyses provides a novel empirical basis for assessing the local prevalence of migratory behaviour across large landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Derek B Spitz
- Wildlife Biology Program, Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA
| | - Mark Hebblewhite
- Wildlife Biology Program, Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA
| | - Thomas R Stephenson
- Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Recovery Program, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bishop, CA, USA
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17
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Dellinger JA, Cristescu B, Ewanyk J, Gammons DJ, Garcelon D, Johnston P, Martins Q, Thompson C, Vickers TW, Wilmers CC, Wittmer HU, Torres SG. Using Mountain Lion Habitat Selection in Management. J Wildl Manage 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.21798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Justin A. Dellinger
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife 1701 Nimbus Rd., Suite D Rancho Cordova CA 95670 USA
| | - Bogdan Cristescu
- Center for Integrated Spatial Research, Environmental Studies Department University of California 1156 High St. Santa Cruz CA 95064 USA
| | - Jonathan Ewanyk
- Institute for Wildlife Studies PO Box 1104 Arcata CA 95518 USA
| | - Daniel J. Gammons
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife 787 N Main St., Suite 220 Bishop CA 93514 USA
| | - David Garcelon
- Institute for Wildlife Studies PO Box 1104 Arcata CA 95518 USA
| | | | | | - Craig Thompson
- United States Forest Service, Northern Region 26 Fort Missoula Rd. Missoula MT 59804 USA
| | - T. Winston Vickers
- Wildlife Health Center University of California 1089 Veterinary Medicine Dr. Davis CA 95616 USA
| | - Christopher C. Wilmers
- Center for Integrated Spatial Research, Environmental Studies Department University of California 1156 High St. Santa Cruz CA 95064 USA
| | - Heiko U. Wittmer
- School of Biological Sciences Victoria University of Wellington PO Box 600 Wellington 6140 NZ
| | - Steven G. Torres
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife 1701 Nimbus Rd., Suite D Rancho Cordova CA 95670 USA
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18
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Lesmerises F, Johnson CJ, St‐Laurent M. Effect of behavioral marginality on survival of an alpine ungulate. Ecosphere 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Frédéric Lesmerises
- Département de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie Centre for Northern Studies Université du Québec à Rimouski 300 Allée des Ursulines Rimouski G5L 3A1 Québec Canada
| | - Chris J. Johnson
- Natural Resources and Environmental Studies Institute University of Northern British Columbia 3333 University Way Prince George British Columbia V2N 4Z9 Canada
| | - Martin‐Hugues St‐Laurent
- Département de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie Centre for Northern Studies & Centre for Forest Research Université du Québec à Rimouski 300 Allée des Ursulines Rimouski Québec G5L 3A1 Canada
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19
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Haus JM, Webb SL, Strickland BK, Rogerson JE, Bowman JL. Land use and dispersal influence mortality in white‐tailed deer. J Wildl Manage 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.21666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jacob M. Haus
- Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology University of Delaware 531S College Avenue Newark DE 19716 USA
| | - Stephen L. Webb
- Noble Research Institute, LLC 2510 Sam Noble Parkway Ardmore OK 73401 USA
| | - Bronson K. Strickland
- Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Mississippi State University Box 9690 Starkville MS 39762 USA
| | - Joseph E. Rogerson
- Deleware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Division of Fish and Wildlife 6180 Hay Point Landing Road Smyrna DE 19977 USA
| | - Jacob L. Bowman
- Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology University of Delaware 531S College Avenue Newark DE 19716 USA
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